What is a servo press?

A servo press uses servo motors for precise force and position control during forming operations.

How do I calculate servo press tonnage?

Use our free tonnage calculator at servopress.club/tonnage-calculator.html

Servo Press for Aerospace Titanium Forming: Process Guide

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## Titanium Forming Challenges

Titanium alloys (Ti-6Al-4V is most common) are difficult to form due to:
- High springback (2-3x more than steel)
- Low thermal conductivity (heat builds up at die contact)
- Tendency to gall against die surfaces
- Narrow forming temperature window for hot forming

## Cold Forming of Titanium on Servo Press

Cold forming is limited to simple shapes and thin gauges (below 1.5mm for Ti-6Al-4V).

Servo press advantages for cold titanium forming:
- Slow forming speed (20-40mm/s) reduces heat buildup
- Dwell at BDC (200-500ms) allows stress relaxation, reduces springback
- Precise tonnage monitoring catches material variation

Die requirements:
- Die material: D2 tool steel minimum, carbide preferred
- Die coating: TiN or TiAlN to prevent galling
- Lubrication: chlorinated drawing compound (check environmental regulations)

## Warm Forming of Titanium

Heating titanium to 200-400°C significantly improves formability and reduces springback.

Press requirements:
- Heated die (electric cartridge heaters in die)
- Temperature control: +/-10°C uniformity
- Forming speed: 10-30mm/s (slower at higher temperature)
- Atmosphere control: not required below 500°C

## Springback Compensation

For Ti-6Al-4V, springback is 8-15 degrees on a 90-degree bend. Overbend the die by the expected springback angle. Use servo press dwell at BDC to reduce springback variation.

yuki_rnd

Titanium forming on servo press is viable but you need to understand the temperature sensitivity. Ti-6Al-4V formability improves dramatically above 300?C. Some shops use heated dies (warm forming) on servo presses to get the best of both worlds —servo precision with improved formability. The servo's slow forming speed also reduces adiabatic heating at the tool-material interface.

dave_toolmaker

Die material for titanium is critical. Standard D2 tool steel galls against titanium within 1000 hits. We use carbide inserts or TiAlN-coated tool steel for titanium forming dies. The coating cost adds 30% to the die but extends life from 1000 to 50,000+ hits. Without proper die material, you'll be re-polishing dies every shift.